Means for rigidly connecting parts of buildings with each other and with the foundations



(No Model.) I

N 0. DELAHUNT. I MEANS FOR RIGIDLY CONNECTING PARTS OF BUILDINGS WITH EACH OTHERv AND WITH THE FOUNDATIONS.

No. 573,452. I Patented Dec. 22, I896.

YNZ uonms PETERS 00., vuofaumm WASHINGTON. n. c

.1'0 all whom it may concern:

UNITED STATES CHARLES DELAIIUNT,

OF oLA'rnE, KANSAS.

MEANS FOR RIGIDLY CONNECTING PARTS OF BUILDINGS WITH EACH OTHER AND. WITH THE FOUNDATIONS.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 573,452, dated December 22, 1896.. Application filed linguist 26,1896. Serial No. 604,039. (No model.)

'Be it known that 1, CHARLES DELAHUNT, a citizen of the United States,residing at Olathe,

in the county of Johnson and State of Kansas,

have invented certain new and useful Means for Rigidly Connecting the Parts of a Building with each Other and also with the Foundation; and I do hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, suchas will enable others to make and use the same, reference being had to the accompan'yin g drawings, forminga part of this specification.

The object of my invention is to give rigid ity to the walls and roof of a building and prevent removal from the foundation, spread in g of the walls, or the unroofing of the build ing by the action of the wind; and it consists in the novelmeans hereinafter fully described,

and specifically pointed out in the claims.

In the drawings, Figure 1 is a View inperspective of a building and its foundation,

' showing the footing, also showing portions of the side and roof of the building broken away and the improved securing devices for the the footing and also connected with the wall- I plate and the rafters. I Fig. 3 is a detail view of the securing device at the angle of the wallplates, showing a portion of the wall-plate and the shoe and its wedge. Fig. at is a detail plan View of a portion of the Wall-plate and shoe, 1 showing the wedge. I Fig. 5 is a detail view of aportion of the footing, showing the lower end of the connecting-rod and the plate and nut on said end of said rod. Fig. 6 isa detail View of a portion of the wall-plate, showing a modification of the lower end of the raftersecuring rods.

Similar letters of reference indicate corresponding parts in all the figures.

A in the drawings represents a two-story frame building.

B is the roof, and Z) 0 the rafters.

C is the wall-plate which supports the rat'- ters on one side of the building, and C is the wall-plate upon the other side.

serted the lower end portion of a connectingrod E, having separate parts e 6. Upon the under side of the footing d, beneath the opening d, is a flat plate 6 which has a perforation re isterin with the o )enin d in the foot- D b I b ing d,and through which perforation the lower end of said rod e extends. Said lower end of the portion 6 of rod E is provided with a screwthread, and upon said end, beneath the plate 6 is fitted a nut 6 I The upper end of the portion 6 of the rod E I is provided with a right-hand screw-thread, and to said end is fitted one end of a turnbuckle F. The lower end of the portion 6 of rod E is provided with a left-hand screwthread, and said lower endis fitted to the upper end of the turnbuckle F. The rod E extends upwardly within the foundation-wall D,

thence through the sill (Z and Wall-plate O to a position a-jshort distance beneath the upper edges of the rafters b 1), outside of plate C and equidistant from two separate adjacent rafters.

Tothe upper end of portion 6 of rod E is rigidly attached a fiat bar G. One end of bar G extends in onedirection to the side of one of the rafters b and is bentupwardly at right angles to the upper surface of the rafter, thence extended across the rafter and bent downwardly onthe other side of the rafter, forming a U-shaped hook g. The other end of the bar G extends to the side of an adjacent rafter Z) and is extended over said rafter in precisely the same manneras described of the hookg,forming ahook g. Upon the other side of roof B and to the upper surface of rafters b 12?, which are directly opposite the rafters b b and a short distance below the apex or ridge of the roof B, is'placed a cross-bar G,

which is precisely the same as the bar Grand connected with the said rafters in the same manner asdescribed of said bar.

To the bar G is connected one end of a rod E, which is separable in two parts, as described of bar E, and adjustably connected with a buckle F, which is the same as buckle F. The other end of rod E, opposite to that connected with the bar G, is flat and is providedwith a slot 1*, through which slot is passed the upper end of rod E. Upon the other side of the building is a clamping device extending from the foundation to the top wall plate, as described of the rod E and bar G, and a clamping device extending from the wall-plate O to the rafters l) l) in the same manner as described of the rod E and bar G, the rod E crossing the line of rod E and constituting a double strut to the roof.

In order that the frame of the building may not be swayed, particularly at the corners, a rectangular-shaped stirrup II is fitted around the wall-plate G at a point a short distance from one corner on one side of the building, and a stirrup II, which is the same as stirrup II, attached to the wall-plate on the end of the building and at the same corner. To the stirrup II is connected rigidly one end of a separable rod II, which separable parts are connected with a swivel in the same manner as described of rod E. The other end of the rod is connected with the stirrup H, so that in the turning of the swivel the tension is increased or decreased upon the stirrups. In

order to give the part of the stirrup which bears against the inclined outer edge of the wall-plate a firm bearin g, a wedge I is inserted between the outer edge of the wall-plate and the sides of the stirrup adjacent thereto. In connecting the wall-plate with the foundation the rod E passes between adjacent studs and within the siding of the walls in a frame building, so that a portion of the siding may be re moved for the purpose of adjusting the tension of the bolt B by operating the swivel.

Instead of having the rod E inside of the foundation the lower portion of the rod may be carried without the wall during construction and the upper end extended beyond the wallplate. In brick construction the upper portion of the rod is extended between the separate courses of brick and a space left in the wall for the turnbuckle to be reached and operated. A space may be left extending downwardly between the courses of brick to the turnbuckle and the upper end portion of the rod connected with the turnbuckle at any time the safety appliance is required to be employed. The rods connected with the rafters near the apex of the roof may be connected also with bar G, if preferred. In the contraction of the metal, however, allowance is made in the plan as shown in Fig. 1 to meet the change in position of the bar G on the rafters, the bar being permitted to move a slight distance.

My invention is designed to obviate the danger of removal of buildings from their founda tions in wind-storms and also the unroofing of buildings, as in the majority of cases the roofs are carried away without further damage.

The devices applied at different parts of the building give solidity to the structure and increase the element of safety.

In Fig. 0 I have shown the end of rod E provided with a head e to engage with the wall direct instead of the slotted plate.

Having fully described my invention, what I new claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

1. A device for securing buildings to their foundations, consisting of a rod having separate adjustably-eonnected parts adapted to be secured to the foundation, and a cross-bar at the end of the rod connected with separate rafters for the purpose set forth.

2. A device for securing buildings to their foundation consisting of a rod having sepa rate adjustably-connected parts, one end of one of said parts having a right-hand screwthread, and one end of the other part having a left-hand screw-thread and a turnbuckle connected with said ends of said separate parts of said bar, a plate at one end of said rod and a cross-bar at the other end, having bent ends adapted to engage separate rafters of the building, for the purpose described.

3. In buildings the combination with the walls of said building and the Wall-plate and roof-rafters, and also with a footing beneath said building of a bar for connecting adjacent roof-rafters, and means for connecting said bar with said footing, as and for the purpose described.

4. In buildings the combination with the walls of said building and the wall-plate and roof-rafters, and also with the foundation of a rod having separate adj ustably-conneeted parts, one end of said rod having a cross-bar engaging with the adjacent rafters on one side of said roof, and also connected with the wall-plate on the other side of the roof at the other end and means for connecting the wallplate and the foundation as set forth.

5. In buildings the combination with the oppositely-pitched roof-rafters of said build ing and the wall-plates supporting said rafters, of cross-bars 011 each side of and near the apex of the roof and bearing upon adja cent rafters, and rods connected with the respective cross-bars at one end, having separate adjustably-connected parts and @011- nected with the wall-plate on opposite sides of the roof at the other end, as and for the purpose described.

CHARLES I) ELAI'IUN T.

Witnesses:

II. R. TOMLINSON, A. L. GREER. 

